This dissertation investigates the morphology and syntax of the noun phrase in Mehri, a Modern South Arabian (Semitic) language spoken in Yemen and Oman. Using the framework of Distributed Morphology (DM), I focus on pronominal possessors and diminutive constructions while addressing themes of syncretism, concord, contextual allomorphy and…

Ground-based astronomy sky surveys are massive, decades-long investments in scientific data collection. Stakeholders expect these datasets to retain scientific value well beyond the lifetime of the sky survey. However, the necessary investments in knowledge infrastructures for managing sky survey data are not yet in place to ensure the long-term…

Within the international higher education community there is not a system nor gold standard to identify the value of higher education institutions (HEIs). For the current research, the definition of value was determined through quantitative methods considering utility and cost. The research problem underscored the importance of valuing…

Universities consist of students, faculty and staff, interacting through multiple layers of organization and on a variety of time scales. They are complex adaptive systems (CAS) yet the bulk of scholarship on higher education analyzes them using conventional social science methods, with little work that tries to understand them using complexity…

The college graduation rates for African-Americans, as compared to other ethnic cohorts, remains at a continuous low level. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2014), 1,602,480 baccalaureate degrees were conferred nationwide to college students during 2009-2010. The purpose of this phenomenological research study is to…

Schools exist for the sole purpose of academic achievement, and within every school exists a unique culture that every student navigates and absorbs. It is reasonable to assume a student's environment and the expectations set forth in that environment may have an effect on their academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine the…

This study was an exploration of the steps school leaders take when creating site-based professional support for school-based staff. The objective was to learn the steps taken by school leaders to implement job-embedded professional development practices and to identify the impact those steps had on the teachers, the students, and the school…

Researchers have revealed that students' confidence and performance improve after they receive feedback from clinical supervisors regarding the delivery of quality patient care. Multiple studies of feedback have focused on the provision and acceptance of feedback; however, it was not known if or how students internalized feedback to promote…

Collaborative information seeking (CIS) is an important aspect of work in organizational settings. Researchers are developing a more detailed understanding of CIS activities and the tools to support them; however, most studies of CIS focus on how people find and retrieve information collaboratively, while overlooking the important question of how…

This thesis explores the questions of how a teacher guides students to see concepts, and the role of gesture and gesture viewpoints in mediating the process of guidance. To examine these questions, two sociocultural theoretical frameworks--Radford's cultural-semiotic theory of knowledge objectification (e.g., 2003), and Goldman's Points of Viewing…

The description of the self-defined expert instructional technologist is unclear. Technologists in the field are identified in various ways. To determine the characteristics and competencies of self-defined expert instructional technologists, an interpretive field study consisting of interviews was conducted. The results revealed three core…

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians are a segment of the original Creek Nation that avoided removal and remained in Alabama. This dissertation is a qualitative study designed to record oral histories of Poarch Creek people. Together the tribe and I collected and recorded oral histories from four generations of four Poarch Creek families. In addition,…

The purpose of this study was to build upon the growing foundational base of knowledge on the academic and social transitions of student combat veterans and contribute to a greater theoretical understanding of this population and how their perception of identity may influence their experience as college students. The researcher conducted a…

Professional internship experiences play a critical role in the development of pre-service teachers. This research investigates pre-service teachers' personal practical theories (PPTs) and autonomy and how they are developed during professional internship experiences. This study also explores relationships that exist for PPTs and autonomy and…

First-generation college students differ in their backgrounds and experiences from other college students and are more likely to drop out of college than continuing-generation students (Ishitani & Snider, 2004; Lohfink & Paulsen, 2005). The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to describe the experiences of first-generation…